CARSON, Calif. (Thursday, May 17, 2012) – The LA Galaxy will begin their quest for a third Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship on Tuesday, May 29 when they open play in the tournament later this month. The Galaxy will enter the 99th edition of the Open Cup in the Third Round along with the other 15 U.S.-based MLS teams and will take on either the U.S. Adult Soccer Association’s PSA Elite, who are based in Irvine, Calif., or the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks.
The RailHawks will host PSA Elite in a Second Round Game at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. on Tuesday, May 22 with the winner advancing to face the Galaxy a week later. LA, who are 24-11-1 all-time in the Open Cup, have never faced either Carolina or PSA Elite in Open Cup play.
If the RailHawks, who are currently in last place in the NASL with a 0-4-4 record for four points, beat PSA, they will host the Galaxy in the Third Round on Tuesday, May 29 with kick off scheduled for 4:07 p.m. (PT). If PSA, who beat the PDL’s Portland Timbers U-23’s on Tuesday to advance to the second round, beat Carolina next week, the Galaxy will host them in the Third Round on May 29. That game would be played at The Home Depot Center with kick off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Galaxy, who won the Open Cup in 2002 and 2005, have been eliminated from the competition at the Quarterfinal stage in each of the last two seasons, losing on the road to the eventual tournament champion Seattle Sounders FC both years. They have not lost to a non-MLS team in the competition since 2007 and have reached the quarterfinals nine times in the first 13 years in which they have entered the competition.
